NBC cancels ‘Young Rock’ after 3 seasons

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - NBC announced Friday that Young Rock, which featured much of its production in Memphis, has been canceled after 3 seasons.

The show told the story of superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s roots, including his stops wrestling in Memphis at the WMC studio as Flex Kavana.

‘Young Rock’ details wrestler’s rise to fame in Memphis thanks to new incentive

After two seasons, the show’s production shifted to Memphis thanks to a new Tennessee tax incentive.

The show starred Johnson as well as Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

Johnson interviewed with Action News 5 back in September, noting the city’s importance to his career:

“My Dad wrestled here. My Dad laid his roots down here. I lived here when I was a little boy. I used to come to this station (WMC) as a little boy, running around and getting in trouble. So to be able to come back and not only wrestle, but also kick off my wrestling career. And I always say - you know how you say, well, if I can make it in New York you can make it anywhere. But if you can make it in Memphis at Channel 5 wrestling, you can get cheered or booed which was very important, then you got a shot at making it. So it means so much to come back here today, really and truly. And not only that but it means so much to a lot of people who I work with, who work with me, and who work on the team. This is where it all started. How cool is that? It all started, literally, right here,” said Johnson.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

The Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission issued the following statement:

“Of course, we’re very sad our friends & clients from ‘Young Rock’ won’t be returning for a 4th season— but we’ll always be grateful for the millions and millions of dollars the Dwayne Johnson series punched into the local economy! The one season in Memphis put over 1500 locals to work— a lot of carpenters, drivers, actors, and crew — and downtown boomed with their business after hours. Graceland provided the series-and the city- with three surprise soundstage spaces- and many of the union crew enjoyed the best wages & benefits of their careers! Now we need to recruit another one!”

Looking to catch up on the last three seasons of the show, click here to find all the available episodes.

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